Car-coupling



(No Model.) F. WUSSOW. GAR GOUPLING.

No. 452,000. Patented May 12,1891.

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,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRIEDRICH 1iVUSSOW', OF LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 452,000, dated May 12,1.891.

Application filed January l2, 1891. Serial No. 377,511. (No model.)

- anism by means of which t-he cars can be automatically coupled by theact of coming together, and by means of which the cars can be quicklyand easily uncoupled without necessitating the entrance of an attendantbetween the cars.

To the above purposes my invention consists in certain peculiar andnovel features of construction and arrangement, as hereinafter describedand claimed.

In order that my invention may be fully understood,l will proceed todescribe it with reference 4to the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a car-body with my improvedcoupling applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section ofthe adjacent ends of two cars with my improved coupling applied thereto.Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the draw-heads. Fig. 4 is a detachedperspective View of one of the links for tilting the coupling-bars. Fig;5 is a detached perspective view of one of the coupling-bars.

In the said drawings, 1 designates the adjacent ends of tworailway-cars, and 10 designates the draw-heads, one of which is suitablymounted beneath the end of each car, midway of the width of the same. Onits upper side each of the draw-heads 10 is formed with two cavities 17and 23, which are arranged parallel with each other, and each of whichopens out at the outer end of the drawhead at points opposite from thelongitudinal center of said draw-head. The cavity 17 is closed beneathby the solid portion 25 .of the draw-head, and is formed at its rearportion with an enlargement 15, while from the rear terminus of thisenlargement opens an extension 24, leading rearward from the saidenlargement. The under side of the drawhead is open, with the exceptionof the portion 25. The inner portion of the draw-head is form ed with avertical channel 9, which is situated directly behind the rear terminusor extension 24 of the cavity 17, and which is designed to receive acurved lifting-link 8, to be hereinafter more fully described. Thecompanion cavity ofthe draw-head is formed at its rear or inner end withan enlargement 2l, and the bottom of both the cavity and its enlargementis closed by the under side of the draw-head. The lifting-link 8, abovereferred to, is an elongated bar slightly segmental in form and havingat its lower end an elongated slot 1l., for a purpose to be hereinafterexplained, and at rits upper end with an eye 7.

Upon the end of each car-body, at the lower part thereof, is placed arock-shaft 3, whichv extends transversely of the car-body and the endsof which are retained in journal-boxes 2, one of which is located ateach side of the car-body. The outer extremities of this rockshaft areformed each with acrank-arm 4, extending at right angles to the mainportion of the rock-shaft and protruding beyond the side of thecar-bodyg Midway of its length this rock-shaft is formed with acrank-arm 5, which extends at an angle of ninety degrees from thecrank-arms 4, so that when said arms 4 are vertical the arm 5 ishorizontal, as shown. The outer end of the crank-arm 5 is Vconnected tothe upper end of the lifting-link S by a pivot-pin 6, which extendstransversely through the outer end of the said arm 5, and also throughthe eye 7 of the link. The coupling-bar 13 is of flat elongated form,and at one end said bar is provided with a dat spherical'enlargenient20. The opposite end of said bar is formed with a fiat elongatedextension 12, and a iiat spherical enlargenient 14 is formed at thepoint of juncture of the bar and its extension.

Vhen the parts are in operative position, the couplingbar lies with itsenlargement 14 in the enlargement 1li of the opening or cavity 17, andits body portion lies within the said cavity, the extension 12 of thecouplingbar passing into the slot 11 of the link S. NVhen the crank-arm5 is in horizontal posi- IOO tion, as shown in Fig. l, thecoupling-barlies horizontally, and in this position the cars are coupledtogether, as shown in Fig. 2.

In order to uncouple the cars, the attendant grasps one or the other otthe handles 4f and pulls it downward and outward away from the car-body,thus depressing the rock-arm 5 and link S. This causes the outer end ofthe coupling-bar to rise out of the cavityT 23 of the oppositedraw-head, and the inner end or extension l2 of the coupling-bar iscorrespondingly depressed by the link S. The cars are thus uncoupled andcan be readily moved apart as desired. With the couplingbars in theraised position just described the couplings are in condition to beautomatically coupled, the shock of meeting of the two cars throwing thecoupling-bars downward into the cavities 23 and restoring therocksliat'ts 3 to their normal positions.

It will be seen that the described forms of the two cavities of thedraw-heads are such as to preserve the utmost solidty of the drawheads,that the operative connections are Very simple in construction andeasily manipulated, and that the form of the coupling-bars is such as toimite the utmost compactness and simplicity of construction with thegreatest strength.

Having thus described inyinvention, what I claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. An improved automatic car-coupling comprising a draw-head provided onits upper side with two cavities, each of which opens out at the frontend of said head and the inner end ot' each of which is forniedwith aspherical enlargement, and one of Whiclilis formed with a rearwardextension from its Spherical enlargement 'and has a partially- 4o openbottom, while the opposite cavity has an entirely-closed bottoni,substantially as set forth. n

2. An improved automatic carcoupling comprising adraw-liead having twocavities opening out of its front end and top and having each anenlargement at its rear end, one of said cavities being entirely closedat its bottom and the other being partially open at its bottom andhaving an elongated exten- 5o sion from its enlargement, an openingextending vertically through tlie rear part ot' the draw-head andcommunicating with the interior of the partially-open-bottomed cavity, alink having a slotted lower end and working through said Verticalopening, and a rock-shaft extending transversely of the car-body andhaving crank-arms extgnding at the sides thereof and also a crank-arm atits middle pivotally connected to the upper 6c end of'the slotted bar,and a coupling-bar having two enlargements of its body portion and anelongated extension projecting into the slot of the link, substantiallyas set forth.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRIEDRICH WUSSOVV. Witnesses:

JOE HELLAR, GEO. G. THoRrE.

